Minnesota Pulls National Guard From D.C. Amid Backlash

WASHINGTON — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is pulling his National Guard troops out of Washington, D.C., ahead of schedule, becoming the first Democratic governor to withdraw forces amid intensifying backlash against state leaders who sent military personnel to the capital for America’s 250th anniversary celebrations.

The Minnesota troops, originally assigned to remain in D.C. through July 23, are being withdrawn early after activists documented them conducting presence patrols in residential neighborhoods far from the National Mall — activity that critics say goes beyond the stated mission of supporting America 250 events, according to NPR.

Background: A Contentious Deployment

Walz was one of six Democratic governors who sent National Guard members to D.C. ahead of the July 4 America 250 celebrations — the first time troops from Democratic-led states had been deployed to Washington since President Trump launched his federal Joint Task Force in August 2025. The other states were Michigan, Kentucky, North Carolina, Maryland, and Hawaii.

All six governors insisted their troops would be used exclusively for celebration-related duties near the National Mall, not for the Trump administration’s ongoing law enforcement mission. However, the D.C. Joint Task Force lists all state troops on its public website, where they have been deputized as special police by the U.S. Marshals Service and issued firearms.

The National Guard presence in D.C. has more than doubled to over 5,100 troops as part of a “summer surge” of law enforcement help, costing upwards of $3 million per day according to the Congressional Budget Office, as NGAUS reported.

Minnesota’s Withdrawal

Walz’s office confirmed to NPR that the decision to pull troops early came after it became clear Minnesota Guard members were being used on presence patrols in neighborhoods beyond the America 250 celebration zone. Maj. Nathan Wallin, a Minnesota National Guard public affairs officer, attributed the early withdrawal to the “successful conclusion of festivities.”

Walz, a former Army National Guard Command Sergeant Major, had sent his troops with specific orders limiting them to America 250 support. The early pullout follows similar moves by other Democratic-led states: Kentucky recalled a single Guard member after they were diverted to the federal task force “without the knowledge or consent” of Gov. Andy Beshear, while Maryland Gov. Wes Moore confirmed his state’s troops would return at the end of the week.

Growing Pressure on Michigan

With Minnesota, Kentucky, and Maryland all withdrawing or signaling withdrawal, attention has turned to Michigan, where Gov. Gretchen Whitmer faces mounting calls to end her state’s deployment of 162 troops, which is scheduled to continue through Aug. 31.

The D.C. City Council — all 13 members — signed a letter calling on Whitmer to withdraw Michigan’s troops early, citing “serious concerns about mission creep, militarization of civilian spaces, and the erosion of local democratic control.” A coalition of more than two dozen think tanks and civic, labor, and civil rights groups sent a similar letter urging her to end the deployment.

Whitmer has threatened to pull her troops if they are used for Trump’s law enforcement mission, sending a strongly worded letter to the head of Michigan’s National Guard last week, as the Detroit News reported. However, activists and experts argue that operational control effectively passes to the federal task force once troops are on the ground.

Expert Concerns and Broader Implications

Elizabeth Goitein, senior director of Liberty and National Security at the Brennan Center for Justice, was sharply critical of the Democratic governors’ approach. “They were fundamentally trusting the Trump administration to respect those lines, and I think that was a mistake,” she told NPR. “No matter what limits they try to draw, as a practical matter, the governors are not there on the ground and are not giving the orders.”

Last week, 19 former senior military officials sent a joint letter to all governors who have yet to send troops to D.C., urging them not to, saying the situation is “fundamentally different” from past celebrations. Former Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall warned that “the American people are being desensitized to the presence of armed, uniformed people on their streets.”

What’s Next

Hawaii’s National Guard, which only arrived after July 4, remains deployed with a potential stay of up to 90 days. With Minnesota’s early withdrawal now setting a precedent, all eyes are on Whitmer and Michigan — the largest remaining Democratic state deployment — to see whether the governor will follow Walz’s lead and bring her troops home before the Aug. 31 deadline.

The episode underscores the deepening political divide over the use of military forces in domestic law enforcement and the challenges Democratic governors face in navigating an election-year deployment under a federal task force led by a president from the opposing party.